Now that I notice it, you're always there next to me,
but do I actually hate you? Love you?
Or am I delusional?
When I take a look at my feelings clearly,
whether I'm a lady or a host,
it doesn't matter to me.
People fall in love for all sorts of different reasons, but...
I want to see you now,
to give your tender self cherry-blossom kisses,
and if your heart beats faster, let's let our love bloom.
Right now is more vital than the future.
The springtime of love's beauty
is the aesthetic of a damsel in bloom.
"Music Room #3"
Excuse me,
are you a member of this club?
I would like you to please call 3rd-Year Haninozuka Mitsukuni over.
You mean, Honey-senpai?
Huh? Chika-chan!
What's up? It's so rare for you to come over to the high school.
Mitsukuni, defend yourself!
J-Just a minute!
--Mori-senpai! --Hmm?
--Whaddya mean, "hmm"?! --Whoa!
"Powerful motor"
Honey-senpai confidently dodges Chika's leadoff attack!
"Play-by-play announcer, Renge Hoshakuji"
What's going on?
"Play-by-play"
Honey-senpai nimbly, gracefully flies through the air,
like a modern-day Ushiwakamaru!
Chika attacks again, not even giving him a chance to regain his footing!
Honey-senpai dodges him, while tripping him up!
Neither of them gives an inch,
as they both unleash ferocious techniques on each other!
Oh, they're going at it.
I wish they would have at least chosen a better location.
How can you be so calm?!
Now, Chika produces a weapon!
H-Hang on, that's against the rules, isn't it?
"Against the rules?"
Honey-senpai got knocked flying!
Will this be Chika's first win?!
Gotcha!
No,
this fight goes to Honey-senpai.
Renge-kun is right.
Kagenui.
[Kagenui: shadow-stitching] "Kagenui"
When did you...
"Unhurt"
Honey-senpai deftly handled his shuriken when Chika was not looking!
"Replay"
Shuriken?
Chika can no longer move an inch!
Wow, what a great fight we were just treated to!
Uh...
I'm not following this at all.
To begin with, who is that?
Can't you tell by looking at his face?
He's Honey-senpai's younger brother.
"Upon closer look, he's the spitting image"
"Chika's 'Down with Honey' Declaration!"
"Music Room #3"
The Haninozuka family is a noble one,
"Yasuchika Haninozuka, 'Chika' for short"
which has excelled at martial arts since ancient times,
"Middle-school 3rd-Year, Karate Club Captain (also in the Judo Club)"
and has created its own original style of martial arts
by incorporating the combat skills from all the others.
And so, while the men in the Haninozuka family
learn karate and judo outside,
at home, we work to master the Haninozuka form,
and to keep us from getting careless at any time,
we have been taught that whenever members
of the family see each other, we are to engage each other.
"Engage in battle upon meeting"
So that's why. That thing they did earlier was a family rule, was it?
Here, Yasuchika-kun, help yourself to some cake.
I don't like sweets.
The rudiments of the Haninozuka form
include refraining from selfishness, and striving for selflessness.
Indulging in pleasure or appetites would be out of the question.
You don't have to take it so far over a single piece of cake...
Um, there's a sweets-loving, overly pampered little boy-Lolita...
...who happens to be the next head of the Haninozuka family...
...right over there.
Let me just say,
there is no way that I will recognize a halfwit like Mitsukuni
as the next head of the family.
My brother is indeed strong.
However, having failed to govern himself, and becoming depraved,
he is not fit to call himself a practitioner of the Haninozuka form.
Even if he is my older brother, I cannot allow someone
who arbitrarily quit the Karate Club a year ago,
and became hooked on stuffed animals and cake,
to succeed the Haninozuka family.
I've wanted to make that clear for a while now.
And another thing, Mitsukuni,
I know I always say this, but you stay away from me at school!
Um... Honey-senpai...
Honey-senpai, what should we do with this leftover cake?
I'll eat it!
--Sure enough, everyone here has a different situation at home.--Yay! Usa-chan, that was delicious, huh?
So Honey-senpai, you used to be in the Karate Club?
I never knew that.
What made you quit that, and join something like the Host Club?
"Something like"? What do you mean, "something like the Host Club"?!
Well, no matter how you cut it,
the Karate Club is a far more reputable club activity, isn't it?
"Ahhhhh!"
In order to find that out...
...we have to go back into the past a little bit.
Back before the Host Club was ever founded.
Let us tell you the legend of Honey-senpai,
crack captain of the Karate Club.
"The Legend of Honey-senpai, crack captain of the Karate Club"
"2 years previous"
"The Haninozuka home"
"At the dojo"
Oh, Eldest Son is now in high school?
I've heard he's been appointed as captain
of the Karate Club, as a 1st-Year.
That is outstanding.
However, I know he's still going through his growth phase,
but he's quite diminutive, huh?
If he's to be the next head of the family, then I have to say...
Mitsukuni, you are aware of all the attention from those around you, right?
Yes.
You must work even harder to maintain your self-discipline.
Completely cast aside all weakness and leniency,
and take hold of true strength.
Right!
Honey-senpai did put in the effort.
Indeed, he tried his hardest.
He applied himself to his martial arts training, right?
Wrong!
That wasn't it. Aware of the attention from those around him,
he followed his father's orders...
...and one after another, sealed away all of his cutest possessions.
And then,
"Carrying his bag like a man"
he tried hard to develop a fearless, manly image.
"...did not suit him"
"Manly menu"
However, his efforts were quite transparent to those around him.
"Swee~ts"
Um, Haninozuka-san, would you like some, too?
"Meat"
Hold on! Don't do that!
No, thank you.
Geez, Haninozuka-san is exercising self-control!
Oops, I wasn't thinking...
"Swee~ts"
"Inching closer..."
He's holding out!
He's still holding out!
How... how touching!
"Flames of moe"
And so, the touching sight of him going without the things that he liked
spurred on the girl students' sense of moe,
until eventually, a fan club was organized around him.
So how is that the legend of the crack captain of the Karate Club?
You see...
"2 years previous"
"The Ouran Academy Karate Club"
All right, ten minute break!
Y-You know, I have to say,
Captain Haninozuka sure is a manly, strict, crack captain, huh?
"Clearly just being polite!"
Yeah, yeah! He's a crack captain!
"Crack captain" "Strict""Manly"
--He's a crack captain. --And manly, too.
"Crack captain"
"Manly"
Such a tear-jerking story!
That's tear-jerking? That brings you to tears?
So, what ultimately happened?
Hello, Haninozuka-senpai.
I know this is sudden, but would you like to form a club with me?
Suou-kun, isn't it? From the middle school.
What kind of club?
I'm so glad you asked, Haninozuka-senpai!
Wouldn't you like to put those looks of yours to more effective use?
Wouldn't you like to use your cuteness to offer solace to young maidens,
who have too much time on their hands?
With cute little accessories, and sweet cake...
...all around you, wouldn't you like to spend some fun time with me?
Huh?
I... I mean, I don't like cake and such.
I'm not interested in cutesy things, either.
N-Not at all interested in cutesy things...
"Riveted"
I don't know a lot about martial arts,
but what exactly is strength--true strength?
Forgive me for saying so, but hiding who you really are,
and putting on airs, seems to me like running away.
Knowing what you truly do like, and acknowledging it--
having the affirmative power to enjoy yourself--
isn't that what true strength really is?
I will ask you again later. Please think it over carefully.
What did you want to talk about?
Father, please tell me one thing.
What exactly is true strength?
I will show you directly, on that body of yours, what it is.
Come to the dojo!
Honey-senpai's father is a martial artist, said to be gifted
like none other since the beginning of the Haninozuka family.
Begin!
However, I believe that at the time, Honey-senpai's martial arts prowess
had actually already achieved the same level that it is at now.
Isn't that right?
According to the story, the referee that happened to be officiating
was the Secretary of Defense at the time,
and ever since, Honey-senpai has been asked
"Hani"
not to fight all-out in public, for any reason.
Why is that?
If Honey-senpai's true abilities were ever exposed to public view,
our country would be suspected of possessing a weapon of mass destruction,
"A weapon of mass destruction!!"
and he was afraid that we would receive U.N. inspectors.
How terrifying!
So, Honey-senpai quit the Karate Club,
and came over to the Host Club.
Now, maybe Honey-senpai's unconventional size
makes it impossible for him to fit in with the Haninozuka form.
In contrast, his brother, Chika, seems to have been
strictly raised according to Haninozuka family custom.
But, as a result, Chika-chan really doesn't like me.
All right, everyone!
As of now, we're commencing
Operation Haninozuka Brothers Reconciliation!
I knew he'd say that.
Ten minute break!
Y-You know, I have to say,
Captain Haninozuka sure is a strict, crack captain, huh?
"...words from their hearts"
Even so,
he's still a far cry from his brother, Mitsukuni-san,
when it comes to ability, isn't he?
Do not talk about my brother when I am here.
Look, look, there's the captain, Chika-kun!
He has such a handsome face!
Still, for cuteness, he's no match for his brother, Honey-kun.
"Huh!?"
What are you looking at?! Move on to the next drill!
But, we're still on our break...
You don't need a break, after the level of training you've done!
What good will having such a soft will do you?!
This is just a simple inferiority complex, huh?
He's always being compared to his brother,
which raises a greater pattern of hatred than there's call for.
His cuter, more popular older brother
also has far greater ability than he does,
and it has warped his personality.
It's so commonplace, it's boring.
Let's go find something else to amuse us.
Hey, hey, hey, what's with the uncooperative attitude?
Well, we thought that there'd be a more interesting, hidden reason.
What do you think Honey-senpai and Chika's feelings are?!
Tama-chan, it's okay.
Honey-senpai...
You know what? I'm okay with Chika-chan hating me.
Just as long as Chika-chan grows up happy and healthy, I'll be fine.
"Looking far ahead"
Uh, he's already a lot taller than you.
He's growing up plenty healthy.
Um, could you keep it down?
"Erk!"
Mitsukuni, I just got done telling you to stay away from me at school!
"Immediately, the family rule"
Why, you...
...you alien!
Chika-chan...
Alien?
However much stronger his brother may be,
there's no need to call him an alien.
What's so wrong about cake, and his stuffed animal Usa-chan?
If it was just the cake and Usa-chan, I wouldn't say anything.
I don't regard my brother as an alien because he's so strong.
Don't the rest of you think anything of it?!
Every night, he eats three whole cakes after supper, like it was nothing!
You understand? I'm serious, three whole cakes!
"Haninozuka dining room"
I humbly accept this after-dinner dessert!
"...after supper..."
That was delicious!
Honey-senpai, that's how you live when you're at home?
And then, just last week, I woke up in the middle of the night,
and noticed that there was light shining out of the dining room.
What's going on? It's the middle of the night.
Ah, Chika-chan...
H-He's eating cake, in the middle of the night?
You know what? Tonight is my once-weekly "special cake night."
It's a snack time that Usa-chan and I set up.
Chika-chan, care to join us?
B-B-
"He's snapped"
Be honest, are you not terrified?! Are you not terrified?!
Did you think that any earthling like that could exist?!
Using Usa-chan's electronic waves, he eats cake all night long!
Honestly, don't you think he's an alien?!
For some reason...
...what the younger brother is saying...
...is starting to sound correct.
And even so...
even so, in the past, we used to get along.
Brother just had a little more of a sweet tooth than others,
and was fond of cute things.
But for a time, Brother gave up all of those things.
And then, someone put some ideas into his head
that he could have done without.
Something about true strength being the acknowledgement
of what one really likes.
"Erk"
After that, he suddenly fell apart, and became the alien he is now.
"Burned out"
I see, so Chika's troubles...
...can all be traced back to you, sir.
W-What are you talking about?!
I-I'm sure there must be a good way to solve this!
There is a way to solve this.
Mori-senpai...
Isn't that right, Mitsukuni?
Chika-chan, I'm sorry for all of this.
I never knew you hated sweets that much, Chika-chan.
No, that's not what the issue is here.
Still, I'm grateful to Tama-chan and the Host Club,
and I don't want to change who I am now.
So...
let's settle this like men, in the Haninozuka style, Yasuchika.
Where do they have a place like this at the academy?
Remember, Chika-chan, this is a one-point match.
And if I win?
Then I will at least give up eating cake at night.
"That's all"
All right.
"And he's okay with it!?"
Are you ready?
Then, begin!
Huh?
Is it my imagination, or is this unfolding
a lot like when they fought in the classroom?
Albeit in an opposite version.
Mitsukuni, at least, is doing so on purpose.
Yasuchika will probably throw his shuriken next.
You're right!
Tell me, where are they hiding these shuriken?
I have watched these two spar for many years,
and Yasuchika always incorporates moves
that Mitsukuni used in the previous match.
Mitsukuni has realized this, and yet creates opportunities
for Yasuchika to use those moves anyway.
He may call him an alien, but where martial arts is concerned,
Yasuchika respects Mitsukuni,
and it's clear that he wants to be even a little bit more like him.
They are indeed connected where they ought to be.
I think that, as brothers, that much is good enough.
Besides, you need not worry about this match.
Mitsukuni intends to throw the fight, and let Yasuchika beat him.
I know everything there is to know about him.
Defend yourself!
"No holding back"
Yay! I won!
Cake! Cake! Cake!
Oh, I have an idea! Since I won,from now on,
I'll have special cake night three times a week!
"...soundly beaten..."
"Also soundly beaten"
Mori-senpai, don't mind it.
His love of cake is even greater than for his brother?
What a dreadful person...
Knowing what you truly do like, and acknowledging it--
having the affirmative power to enjoy yourself--
isn't that what true strength really is?
Usa-chan, I love you!
I can run for 5000 miles, until I'm out of breath.
100 liters of adrenaline keeps the body working at full strength.
Having come this far, is it enough? How far until it's okay?
The trees that imbue the streets of this town
keep repeatedly changing their appearance.
In completely washed-out pallor, and unchanging frailty,
I want to believe in myself, as I am here and now.
With my right hand, and my left hand, held over my head,
I tear through the darkness and go!
There is no deceit!
I've made my resolve!
From the moment I make my start, the world expands.
What?!
The Zuka Club from Lobelia are the ones who took Haruhi away?!
Just you wait, Haruhi! I'm coming to save you now, right this minute!
Next time, "Lobelia Girls' Academy Strikes Back!"
Ouran High School Host Club will be waiting for you, next week!